On December 2, one-fifth of city residents will choose our next mayor. The ballot may not contain your preferred candidate, or even your preferred view of government. Nonetheless, participation is the only way to preserve our democracy.
Any resident, starting at age 18, who is a citizen and not serving time for a felony is eligible to vote. This was not always the case. The U.S. Constitution gave power to the states to determine who could or could not vote. In practice, this meant that only men who owned property had the vote. Women and Black people need not apply, and Native Americans were not citizens. By the 1820s, reforms opened the voter rolls to more men, and some states allowed people of color to vote. Still, no women.
In 1851, Sojourner Truth spoke eloquently to the need for all people to be treated equally. “I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman?”
In 1870, the 15th Amendment to the Constitution expanded voting rights to Black men. But it took until 1920 before women were given the vote. It was not until 1965 that the Voting Rights Act was passed (this act is currently under vicious attack by our conservative leadership. The idea of one person, one vote is a rare thing throughout our world.
People from Russia (Alex Navalny) to South Korea are living and dying in the pursuit of democracy.
Many citizens choose not to vote. They stand idly by as others make the decisions that govern our daily lives. Their apathy encourages politicians to target ever-narrower slices of the population. Staying home is not an option because it places the power to choose
in the hands of the minority. Should we trust our collective fate to any small group?
Probably not!
People like Sojourner Truth, Susan B Anthony, and John Lewis fought to give us the sacrament of an election. One person, one vote, one stand for democracy. It is a rare thing in this age of algorithms that true privacy exists. When sitting in the voting booth, the only person who knows, or will know, how you chose to vote is you.
Gerrymandering voter districts, restricting absentee ballots, and causing people of color to fear the polls threaten our freedom. The only way to keep that from happening is for all of us to vote proudly. To insist that all are equal when choosing a candidate. As in religion, where a sacrament defines a relationship to a system of belief, so the act of
casting a ballot is a ritual that defines a free and independent society. In the words of the ceremony: “Todd DeVries has voted.” Will you?
Please share in the sacrament of citizenship by casting a ballot in this runoff election. Your choice matters! You will not regret the experience. We all benefit from your activism.
Todd DeVries is a local mental health provider and the state committeeman for the Bonneville County Democratic Central Committee.